Religion proves to have been an important aspect in the lifestyle and culture of the Dominican Republic. Although there are many different groups of people the main religion which unites the people of the island is Roman Catholicism and it became the official religion of the Dominican Republic in 1844 according to Isabel. Due to the fact that the Dominican Republic was colonized by Spain where Roman Catholicism is the dominating religion, many of the Taino, Caribs, and African slaves who lived there were also converted to Catholicism. There were also small populations of people who practiced other religions taught to the by other Europeans such as Judaism, Protestantism, Jehovah Witness, Mormon, Evangelism, and Adventism. In retrospect there were also people who practiced African religions such as Voodoo, which was more Haitian influenced and Gaga, which was more Dominican influenced.
When many of the explorers, priests, monks, and colonists came to the Dominican Republic they saw it fit to convert the natives of the Dominican Republic through the use of convents. According to Isabel, “Their primary objective was to convert the sons of the caciques (Indian chiefs) to Christianity, thus inculcating western European culture among the Indians” (p.70). I believe they targeted the sons because they would be considered the future leaders of their tribe and the father was probably already set in his ways. Whereas the younger sons could be more easily influenced and susceptible to the teachings of Christianity offered to them by the Europeans. Catholicism was so dominant that the first mass that occurred in the Americas was held in the Dominican Republic and it was intertwined into the lifestyle of the Dominicans. Funerals would consist of nine masses and there were many Catholic celebrations and Carnivals which were greatly participated in by most of the inhabitants of the Dominican Republic. Although Catholicism was the main religion of the Dominican republic there were still some native converts that represented the other religions such as Judaism, Protestantism, Jehovah witness, Mormon, evangelism, Adventism, adding to the unique culturally diverse aspects of the Dominican Republic even in categories such as religion.
Although many of the natives and African slaves were converted to Christianity by the Europeans, there were still a good amount that continued to practice their original and some African religions. The central aspect of the belief system of the Taino was the cemi which represented mystical divinities. They believed in keeping the spirits of the dead satisfied and the main religious ceremony was the cohoba where vomiting and inhaling hallucinogenic drugs was the way to communicate with the cemi, according to Isabel. An African based and Haitian associated religion which invoked fear in many was voodoo. According to Isabel, Voodoo is a religion which consists of myths from African tribes and draws on some aspects of Christianity. Gaga is almost the same as voodoo except its Dominican based and the Spirits are called lua instead of loas. What is unique about gaga is that the people who practiced this faith were also considered Catholic. In fact there were many aspects of Catholicism that they were able to relate back to gaga.
This creates many similarities between the people discussed in Rebecca’s Revival and the natives and African slaves of the Dominican republic because they both had many people who were converted to Christianity and other European based religions by the Europeans while still having some who continued to practice their original faiths and some who practiced a mixture of the two or several. Both peoples also had syncretism and used religion as a means to learn to read and write and to give hope inspiring the want for change.
Brown, Isabel Zakrzewski. "Religion." Culture and Customs of the Dominican Republic. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 1999. 69-77. Print.
Annual Report, International Religious Freedom 1999, Report Submitted to the Committee on International Relations, U.S. House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate by the Department of State in Accordance with Section 102 of the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998. Washington: U.S. G.P.O., 2000
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